Photograph
by SugarHighNutcase
Summary: EdmundxPeter brother fic. Before Narnia. Read and review.
1. Departure

_Photograph_

By SugarHighNutcase

**I really hope you all like this one; I definitely enjoyed writing it. I almost cried while writing a certain part, which has never happened to me before. This fic is set before the Pevensies go to the Professor's house. I think it'll be obvious once you start it. Please read and review!**

Edmund watched as his father hugged his mother and sisters goodbye. They stood to the side to allow him to hug his sons, tears slipping down Susan and Lucy's cheeks, his mother on the verge of tears herself.

His dad looked Peter in the eye, said something to him, looking serious, then embraced his son. Peter turned away and blinked a few times to stop his own tears from coming.

Their father walked over to him, and kneeled down so that they were eye level. He put his hands on each of Edmund's shoulders, and looked him straight in the eye as he had done to Peter. "Ed," he began gently. "Eddy, I'm going to miss you, and I know you'll miss me, but you have to be good. Be good to your mother, look out for your sisters, and help Peter. He may be the eldest, but you are still my son, and I trust the two of you to look out for everyone. Peter will have to take charge and look out for the family, but I want you to have his back, okay? Can you do that, Eddy?" Edmund's father looked into Edmund's face seriously.

Edmund nodded miserably. His dad smiled and embraced his youngest son. "I love you, Ed. I'll be back; don't worry." Edmund held on tightly. His father was the only person who understood him. With him gone, Edmund felt he'd be lost.

His father pulled away, kissed their mother, and finally left. The rest of the Pevensies looked at the door, as though he'd come bursting through yelling "Just kidding; I'm staying" but he didn't.

Lucy broke out in sobs; Susan, whose eyes were red and puffy, hugged her sister, letting a few more tears fall. Their mother hugged them both, crying freely now.

And Edmund took one look at the scene, and stormed away. His mother gazed worriedly at his retreating back, then looked up at Peter, who understood and took off after him.

The first place Peter checked was his younger brother's bedroom. It was right next to his own; the girls' shared room on the other side. Entering, he squinted, trying to see. The room was completely dark. It was also completely empty, he realized a moment later, and he continued his search.

The next place he checked was his father's study. The kids rarely went into the study; it was their father's quiet place. Peter had only been in there a few times when his father wanted to congratulate him on a good mark in school, but was too swamped with work to come out. Peter also knew that whenever Edmund got into a fight in school (which lately had been often) he was sent straight to the study after arriving home. Peter wasn't sure what was said during those sessions, but he knew that Edmund enjoyed being in the study alone with his father.

Opening the study door carefully, Peter glanced around the room a few times, and saw no one. Just as he went to close the door, he heard a sound. Pausing, he stepped into the room silently, and listened hard.

He heard it again: a soft sniff, coming from the far corner of the room. Peter walked into the study, searching for Edmund, before stopping at the far corner of the room.

There, where the desk and bookshelf met, sat Edmund. He was leaning against the wall, knees pulled to his chest. His eyes were focused on the photograph in his hand. Peter didn't have to look to know which photo it was. He could picture it in his mind.

There was Edmund, a young child at the time, with dark, semi-curly hair and light brown eyes. There was Peter, about Edmund's current age, with dark blond hair and baby blue eyes. Both had large, happy grins on their faces, and in between them was their father, with his arms around his two sons, a proud smile on his face and in his eyes.

_Back when Ed and I were best friends,_ Peter thought sadly. _Back when he was sweet and innocent. That was the summer before he was sent to that school, wasn't it? The summer before he started getting in fights; started slipping away from us._

Peter stepped out from his hiding spot in the shadows, and walked over to his brother. Realizing he was not alone, Edmund's head jerked up in surprise. Peter felt sad to see the tear-tracks on his face and his watery dark brown eyes. Peter knelt in front of Edmund, a look of worry in his own blue eyes.

"I don't want to hear anything you have to say," Edmund grumbled, not looking at the older boy. "Go away."

"He'll be back, Ed."

"How do you know that?" Edmund exploded. "You don't know, Peter, you _can't_ know! He might never be back!"

"I don't know, Edmund, but I do believe he will. We're all going to miss him, but he'll write us."

Edmund narrowed his eyes and looked as though he were about to yell, but decided against it and looked away again. Peter glanced down at the photograph.

"That was a great day, wasn't it?" he whispered softly.

Edmund closed his eyes, leaned his head against the wall. He remembered it well: the beach, the swimming, the laughter, the happiness he'd felt. He and Peter had played and played until Susan and Lucy fell asleep, and their mum took the girls home, and their dad had then come into the water with them, and the three of them played until it was dark. It had probably been the last time he was truly happy.

Peter searched his brother's face for a reaction. Getting none, he went on. "I had so much fun that day. You and I swam for hours, and we went off exploring and found those tide pools, remember? And Lu tried to make a sandcastle but got aggravated, so you helped her. She was so happy when she saw what you'd done. And then Mum took the girls home because they fell asleep, so you and I splashed Dad until he came to play with us."

Edmund smiled a bit at the memory. _That was a terrific day._

"You used to be so happy then. You and I were so close, Edmund. But now, you're distant and secluded. You feel like the only person you can trust is Dad, and now that he's gone, you don't know what to do."

Edmund's eyes snapped open. How had Peter known?

"Edmund," Peter said gently. "You aren't alone. I know you feel like you isolated, but you don't have to be. We love you, Ed, and we want to help you. But we can't help if you're running off and crying be yourself."

Edmund felt tears forming at the corners of his eyes.

"I love you, Ed. You don't have to hide your feelings from your own brother. I know you're feeling that sense of loss right now because of Dad. I am, too. You don't need to hide it from me, of all people."

And although Edmund willed not to cry, he found himself sobbing into his brother's chest a minute later. The older boy held him close, stroking his hair and rocking him back and forth.

And the two brothers cried together, sharing their sadness for a father going to war. They cried together, sharing their sorrow for a man whom they might never see again.

And that night, the two brothers slept in the same bed, giving comfort and warmth to each other, sharing a moment of closeness they had not shared in years.


	2. Absence

_Photograph_

By SugarHighNutcase

**This was supposed to be a one-shot, but I was inspired to continue. This is actually how I was going to end the fic, but then I changed my mind and wrote the ending you saw last chapter. A couple reviews got me inspired, so here is the result. Just a continuation, with the ending it was meant to have. It's kind of short. Enjoy!**

**Chapter Two**

Edmund cracked open his eyes and shut them right away. The light hurt; it was too early and too bright. He needed rest, but could not fall back asleep. Groaning, he turned in the bed, and felt something move next to him. Edmund's eyes snapped open, and he found himself face-to-face with his elder brother, who was grinning at him.

"Morning," Peter whispered laughingly. Edmund realized that Peter's arm was around his body, holding them in a close embrace.

"You're in my bed," Edmund stated simply.

"Yes, I am." Peter seemed particularly cheerful that morning. He propped himself up with one elbow. "Did you know that you mumble quite loudly in your sleep?" He grinned annoyingly.

"I wasn't aware," Edmund said dryly. "I am oh-so-sorry if my _mumbling_ woke you."

"It was actually rather amusing. There were only a few words distinguishable. The rest was all-"

"Mumbled?" Edmund supplied. He sat up. Peter followed suit.

"Yes, actually."

There was a moment of comfortable silence. Then Edmund turned to his elder brother and spoke. "Peter, do you think he'll come home?"

Peter avoided Edmund's eye. "I really don't know, Ed. We can't know what will happen, can we?"

Edmund sighed. "I guess not, but- I- I need something. Reassurance, I guess, that he'll come back to us. It's bad enough him being gone, but when there's a chance he won't return alive-" Edmund stopped, afraid to say more.

"I know, Ed," Peter whispered, hugging him. "I know."

Edmund felt as though he was going to cry again. He didn't want his father fighting, he wanted his father home, safe, and with them. _With me,_ Edmund thought.

"We're all worried, Ed. We all know what might happen. But we just have to hope he'll be okay," Peter said into Edmund's hair, his voice muffled.

"Peter, I don't want him to die." Edmund knew he sounded miserable and pathetic, but he couldn't help it. He wanted –no, _needed_- his father to be with him, safe and sound.

Edmund knew he was being stupid, but he needed his father to hug him, and hold him, and tell him it'd be okay. He loved Peter- when they weren't arguing- but he needed his father to be here, instead of his brother.

_Dad was the only one who understood,_ Edmund thought. _He was the only one who gave me second chances, who hugged me instead of yelled, who actually talked to me._

"It'll be okay, Eddy," Peter said, trying to sound sure of himself.

Abruptly, Edmund sat up. Glaring at Peter and wiping the few escaped tears away angrily, he jumped out of bed. "Don't call me EDDY!" Edmund turned and ran out of the room, sobbing quietly to himself now, ignoring his brother's hurt look of confusion.

_No one calls me Eddy anymore. That's Dad's name for me, NOT theirs!_

Edmund ran out of the house, not listening to his mother's shouts, and sprinted down the street. He didn't know where he was going, but he was going to get away from the painful reminders of his father's absence.


End file.
